New Castle revokes job offer to Staniszewski

Washington City Councilman Matt Staniszewski was poised to accept a job to become New Castle’s economic development director, but the offer apparently was pulled off the table at the last minute.

Staniszewski, who has been on city council since 2006, said Thursday morning that he accepted the new position in the Lawrence County town, and was waiting for New Castle officials to formally approve it at their voting meeting that night.

However, the offer apparently was retracted in the afternoon for unspecified reasons, and Staniszewski declined to say what happened since Thursday morning for the job offer to be revoked before Thursday night’s meeting. The person hired for the position would be responsible for economic development, grant writing, code enforcement and zoning.

The New Castle News reported Thursday that the City Council there settled on Staniszewski as a candidate. He was to begin his new job Sept. 1 and would have been paid a pro-rated portion of a $65,000 annual salary, the newspaper reported.

The News noted in its story that Staniszewski has two DUI convictions, but it reported that New Castle officials said they were not concerned about his past.

It was not clear if Staniszewski, whose tenure on Washington council was marked by controversies and clashes with other elected officials, is still a candidate for the job or when a final decision might be made.

Staniszewski is running in November on the Republican ballot to retain his City Council seat.

He said earlier Thursday, when his hiring for the economic development job seemed imminent, that he hadn’t decided whether he would relocate to New Castle and give up his spot on council.

New Castle Mayor Anthony Mastrangelo declined to address the situation and would not elaborate on the economic development position or the hiring process.

Mike Jones has been a news reporter since 2005, covering crime, state and municipal government, education and energy. In addition to working at the Observer-Reporter, he also has spent time at the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail and Patch.com. He holds a journalism degree from West Virginia University.